‘There’s two sides to our job’
Met Police Sergeant, Kevin Cosham, 47, covers around 8000 miles a year on patrol and instructing with the Bike Safe London team, plus around 4000 on his own Honda CBR600RR
“There's two sides to our job. You've got Bike Safe, where we deliver safety talks and take the public out on a twoto-one basis and introduce them to different aspects of riding on A-roads, B-roads and country lanes.
“If we do that day, we do about 90 to 120 miles and that's in all weathers. We also do enforcement and then you'll do a lot less mileage, but you go into central London. “For Bike Safe, we go out of London, otherwise it would be horrendous. However, our enforcement role is for central London. That's where you get your different riding, with a lot of filtering through traffic. We'll probably cover around 50 miles then. “No officers will go out on an icy day. We might come out later on and do paperwork in the morning, but there's nothing heroic about lying on the ground, so in the ice and snow, the bikes won't be used. It's the same as in high winds. That's it though – if it's cold, that's not an excuse to not go out and work.
“When drivers are tapping away on their mobile phone, they won't even see your bike coming. Although we've got all that gear on, they're so engrossed that you can catch them every time. When you're in a car, you can't do that.
“When I'm not working, I still find riding my own bike a good way to de-stress. If I can get out, I will just go down some nice country roads, out of the way of everyone. I avoid any A-roads and go out with either my mates, or on my own. It's just a nice thing to do.”